PIQUA — Les Edsel, of Sidney, will be among seven World War II veterans who will be honored by Edison State Community College during a program on the Piqua campus, Thursday, Oct. 15, at 11:30 a.m.
Admission is free. The event will feature live music, photography of WWII-era aircraft, Dayton Patriot Pin-Ups, commendations from Speaker of the House John Boehner and presentations from the Miami Valley Veterans Museum.
Army Capt. Edsel, 1942-1945, was a prisoner of war in Poland and Germany who escaped as the Russians took over the last camp where he was imprisoned.
Others to be honored are Navy Radioman First Class Marion Adams, of Covington, 1942-1946, responsible for radio communications aboard an LST at the beaches of Normandy invasions; Army Cpl. Harry Ashburn, of Piqua, 1942-1945, charged with transporting soldiers and equipment in mission-critical exercises in the Philippines; Navy Capt. Bill Brower, of Piqua, 1943-1946, charged with destroying the Japanese military equipment in the Philippines after the Japanese surrendered; Army Staff Sgt. Harry Christy, of Piqua, 1942-1945, who fought at the Battle of the Bulge and helped the P.O.W.s housed at Stalag VII-A, Germany’s largest camp at Moosburg, return home after the war; Congressional Gold Medal winner Nadine Nagle, of Dayton, 1942-1944, WASP pilot whose husband was killed in the war and who learned to pilot a plane so that she could fly for him; and Army Capt. Robert Tweed, of Troy, 1943-1946, who fought at the Battle of the Bulge and bore witness at Dachau the day after the American Army liberated the concentration camp.
A display of 10 large images of vintage WWII aircraft photographed by Springfield photographer Jim Copes will be on display outside of the Robinson Theatre. Dayton Patriotic Pin-Ups, clad in dresses, shoes and hats reminiscent of WWII, will welcome guests and be available for photographs.
Thien Snipps, a seven-man group of vocalists and instrumentalists, will perform live WWII-era music.
Commendations from Boehner will be given to the seven veterans, and Mitch Fogle, CEO of the Miami Valley Veterans Museum and retired U.S. Navy veteran, will present lifetime memberships to the museum to the honored veterans.
